Customer Projects - Get Inspired

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Knit One.. Pray too.

Created By: MARY J SWOBODA

Our knitting ministry started after a friend shared the book, "Knitting into the Mystery." Her words to me were," this is the only knitting book that will ever make you cry and this is what we need to start at our church." I read the book, and knew from that instant that was the mission that I needed to be a part of. We met with the leadership of our church a few weeks later, put a flyer in the bulletin and then our story begins and is still adding chapters.

Our ministry that we have entitled "knit one..pray too" has been going strong now for 3 years, going on 4. We meet once a week where we eat, knit, drink some wine and enjoy the bond of prayer and friendship. We have gifted over 100 shawls to people from our parish that ask for our shawls for someone in need, people that we know personally that need shawls, or sometimes we begin shawls with no person in mind, but then a request comes and the project then becomes a mission. We have learned that it is best to have a few shawls available on hand in case of sudden illnesses or death in which people need the comfort of our shawls.

We have touched so many people with our shawl ministry. One of which that is special in my heart, is about a 4 year old boy, Zach, undergoing chemotherapy for neuroblastoma at St Jude's here in Memphis. I met his mom through our choir at the church that I attend and where our ministry is housed. We watched how her son triumphed through rounds of chemotherapy but then plummeted to grave illness to death. I knitted a blue shawl for him and then a navy blue for his mother. I finished the shawl in time for him to enjoy the shawl before his death. I finished his mom's shawl and gifted it to her ironically on the day that he died. I was able to pray with her wearing the shawl on the day that we had all feared.

Days after his death and at the funeral, his mother told me that Zach wanted to be buried with his shawl. That touched me so much to know that a simple act of kindness meant so much to him and his mother.

My advise to other people intersted in building a prayer shawl ministry is to remember that it is a group based upon the power of prayer. The bond that builds between you, the members of your group and the people that you touch from your gifts is unbelievably awesome.